Remmy Nweke
29 January 2004
analysis
Lagos — ELECTRONIC Learning (e-learning) is fast becoming the critical step in battling the 'digital divide' which tends to widen the gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' in the world today.
Electronic learning is also known as virtual education which some tertiary institutions globally have come to identify with in their excitement and determination to be part of the revolution.
And this is why today almost every country of the world, have a virtual university or an open university as the case may be all channeled towards improving the lives of their citizens through distance education systems, mostly based on deployment of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) tools among others.
Nigeria therefore is not an exception as it began its on own processes 21 years ago, precisely on July 22, 1983, with the establishment of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
History has it that these processes was truncated with a suspension on April 25, 1984, by the then Military Government led by General Muhammed Buhari (rtd). Consequently, on April 12, 2001, its resuscitation processes was begun and at the celebration of the nation's 42nd independence anniversary, the federal government announced its return and readiness to exploit NOUN values, mission and objectives.
And with the mission to provide functional, cost-effective, flexible learning which adds life-long value to quality education for all who seek knowledge, through bridging of the gap between students at the conventional class-rooms and other members of the populace yearning to improve themselves; mostly the working class and others who due to one reason or another, could not achieved their desired education but are still keen.
This paved way for the appointment of Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede, as its national coordinator. For him, NOUN is the only federal government established single mode tertiary institution in the country and dedicated to quality open-access education through distance learning.
He noted, "Its set-up is geared towards taking the distance out of education for many Nigerians who would not normally have the opportunity to study through the conventional mode of face-to-face, full-time study.
And to further give NOUN leverage to operate, the Federal Government banned satellite campus operations, by almost every tertiary institution in the land.
NOUN's mandate covers preparing professionals in various disciplines through distance learning modules and thus offers a choice of qualifications from certificates, diplomas to post graduate diplomas and degrees.
NOUN also offers courses to those described as 'stand-alone' self-development which is a non-award earning courses.
It has been seen by industry analysts as succour to the compelling need to make education the bedrock of national development and exceptionally highly 'unmet demands for education in Nigeria".
As expected of such institutions, NOUN is to employ a range of delivery methods to take education a step further nearer to the people. These include printed instructional materials, audio, video tapes and Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), to be transported to respective candidates through the government owned Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) courier subsidiary, which culminated in NIPOST and NOUN's management arrangement for in-house courier division.
Other course delivery system includes television and radio broadcasting of educational programmes, electronic transmission of materials in multimedia format, which is capable of transmitting voice, data, graphics, video over fixed telephone lines, which could be leased also, as terrestrial and Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) wireless communication systems.
It is expected also that study centres would be established in each of the geo-political zones, states and local government areas, to act as resource places where students would pick-up course and other study materials. Moreso, students would be interacting with instructional facilitators and tutors, student counselors and study centre managers with the central hub located in Abuja.
A number of other learning support facilities including the Internet, electronic mail (e-mail), library among other communication channels are to be equally available at these study centres.
In fortifying its recent studies on "The Virtual University: Models and Messages/Lessons from case studies" the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in collaboration with its department of International Institution for Educational Planning (IIEP), on January 19 commenced a one-month on-line debate on Virtual University (VU).
The objective of the forum is to reflect on the policy environment needed to support the efficient development and operation of virtual education and address the issue of who should be responsible for the development of such policies, according to the moderator of the forum, Ms Susan D'Antoni.
The VU debate, she said, is a vital example of new developments in the use of Information and Communication Technologies in higher education.
Messrs Folorunso Longe and Ijere U.L. of the University of Agriculture Abeokuta and University of Lagos respectively, in a joint paper delivered recently in Abuja, said that for distance learning to be maximised, NOUN needs urgently to establish Educational Network Center (EDUNET) for the purposes of training and development through distance mode.
The duo in the paper entitled: E-Learning EcoSystem: Prospects for Distance Learners in Nigeria" called for the setting up of OPEN Education Network (OPENET) to network physical intellectual and academic resources (e-learning Ecosystem) of all the open and distance educational institutions in Nigeria.
For Dr. Oliver Osuagwu of the University of Technology, Owerri, currently deployment arrangement is in negation, considering that approximated N4.5 billion would be required for the take off which is in the earnest, as enrolment had since began and the first batch commenced last quarter.
Equating NOUN to about 30 Nigerian conventional universities in a row, Dr. Osuagwu, faulted the initial 12 study centres proposed for its take off, arguing that the limitation of centers may have been constrained by tight budgeting, just as provision has been made to acquire about 30 units of 250 KVA generators and transformers to ensure success of the project.
He pointed out that with this, only those residents at the centre locations would be availed the opportunity to acquire higher education in the meantime.
He also drew attention to the absence of electricity and telephone infrastructure, meaning that intending students have to travel far distances to designated centers, thus pushing up the cost of the programme.
Currently registration for a NOUN programme costs N10,000 per student, caution deposit - N5,000, practical session -N7,500.00, professional practice N10,000, examination fee per semester - N7,500 and course materials varies between N1,000 and N4,500, depending on the programme and number of credits, type and level. Whereas, a credit is equivalent of about 30 hours of study.
Therefore, an approximated N50,000 must be put aside for any intending student and considering that an average Nigerian worker keen in developing himself further educationally, earns less than N10,000, shows that for him to embark on distance learning, such as the one being propagated by NOUN, he has to put aside about five months salary in advance and this is excluding other miscellaneous expenses which could come up on the programme and from the family-end too.
And mostly, now the economic and Naira value are not stable, salaries are paid as at when when over-due and several months in arrears.
It is only hopeful that Nigerian authorities are taking active part in the UNESCO on-line debate on VU presently going on, so that by the time it comes to an end, useful contributions shared from other parts of the world, could be deployed to improve NOUN service offerings in the country.
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